This Week In Credit Card News: How The Coronavirus Concerns Are Impacting Your Credit Cards

Fed Cuts Rates Sharply In Response To Coronavirus Risk To Economy, Markets

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates Tuesday in a rare emergency move, responding aggressively to the growing threat the coronavirus poses to the economy and financial markets. The Fed lowered its key federal fund rates by half a percentage point to a range of 1% to 1.25%, the central bank said in a statement. It marked the Fed’s first rate cut between scheduled meetings since the depths of the financial crisis in 2008. 17.5%. [USA Today]

Visa Joins Mastercard in Cutting Revenue Outlook on Virus Impact

Visa became the latest payments firm to face a hit from the spread of coronavirus. The company warned that cardholders’ spending overseas has slowed sharply, especially for travel-related purchases, and that this quarter’s revenue growth will be about 2.5 to 3.5 percentage points lower than the outlook it shared on Jan. 30. Mastercard said last month it’s knocking 2 to 3 percentage points off an earlier forecast, which translates to revenue growth of 9% to 10% on a currency-neutral basis, excluding acquisitions. [Bloomberg]

Divided Supreme Court Debates Constitutionality of the CFPB

A sharply divided Supreme Court debated the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and whether a president should be able to remove its head for any reason, including disloyalty or policy differences. At stake is the very existence of the independent watchdog agency, created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, and whether it will remain insulated from politics with a leader not directly answerable to the White House and only removable for cause. [ABC News]

Wells Fargo Launches Two New Bank Accounts with Limited Overdraft Fees

Wells Fargo plans to launch two new bank accounts early next year. One will be a checkless account with no overdraft option. Users can only spend the money that is in the account, resulting in no overdraft fees or insufficient fund fees. The account will come with a monthly fee of $5, but it will include access to online banking, mobile alerts (including low balance alerts), Zelle, in-person banking, and ATMs. Accountholders will not be able to write checks, but they can access their funds with a debit card. The second new account will support checks and will only charge one overdraft fee per month, when applicable. This account comes with a $10 monthly fee and offers access to the services mentioned above. [LowCards.com]

Credit Card Benefits are Changing: What’s Going On?

Starting in 2018, some key benefits began disappearing from the credit cards of some major issuers, even from some premium travel rewards cards known for their generous benefits. The first indication that the ground was shifting came from Discover, which dropped five major benefits from all its cards in February 2018. But the big shocker came in June 2019, when Citi announced the removal of nearly all cardholder benefits from most of their cards. There are some areas where credit card benefits are improving, such as cellphone insurance. [The Points Guy]

AmEx Staff Misled Small-Business Owners to Boost Card Sign-Ups

Questionable sales tactics cropped up in push to retain cardholders after Costco partnership ended. Some AmEx salespeople strong-armed business owners to increase card sign-ups, according to more than a dozen current and former AmEx sales, customer-service and compliance employees. The salespeople have misrepresented card rewards and fees, checked credit reports without consent and, in some cases, issued cards that weren’t sought. [The Wall Street Journal]

Mobile Wallets to Power Majority of Online Purchases by 2023

More than half of all online sales will go through mobile wallets by 2023, while online installment payment plans are poised to boom, according to a new global payments report from FIS. The survey found that mobile wallets will be the payment method of choice for 52% of global ecommerce sales by 2023. Although American consumers still prefer to use their credit cards for online shopping, FIS said digital and mobile wallets were on track to surpass credit cards as the most-preferred online payment method in the United States by 2021. [Credit Union Times]

This Fintech Firm is Launching Crypto Debit Card for Users in 178 Countries

Crypterium, a crypto fintech firm led by Visa’s former General Manager for Central Europe, claims to have rolled out the most widely available prepaid crypto debit card, allowing users in 178 different countries to spend Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin in-store and online. The card’s wide availability is on account of its being part of the UnionPay network. [Crypto Slate]

Mortgage Rates Fall to All-Time Low Amid Coronavirus Concerns

Mortgage rates in the United States have fallen to the lowest level ever on the heels of concerns stemming from the coronavirus outbreak. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 3.29% during the week ending March 5, a major decrease of 16 basis points from the previous week. Previously, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit an all-time low back in November 2012 in the wake of the recession, when the average rate fell to 3.31%. [MarketWatch]

Wells Fargo Gives Apple Pay Users $5 At ATMs

Wells Fargo customers who use the Apple Pay card at its ATMs will get a $5 bonus. To get the money, which will be credited to people’s statements, customers have to use a Wells Fargo ATM with Apple Pay or another digital wallet using an iPhone or Apple Watch. Business debit cards are not eligible, and the offer is one time per customer. [PYMNTS]

Mastercard Commits to Helping One Million Women Entrepreneurs

Mastercard has launched a new initiative Path to Priceless designed to reaffirm the company’s commitment to women entrepreneurs. Through the program, Mastercard has curated a calendar of physical and digital advisement and mentorship opportunities for women business owners. Female business owners will have access to conferences, panel discussions, networking opportunities and one-to-one mentorship. [Verdict]